Bravo Mervyn King & Richard Lambert - 99.99% of people agree. Angela Knight should keep quiet with her defence of the indefensible.
A friend working at GS told me "it is right to anything to make money and if you don't think that you shouldn't be in the City". QED. Hope his kind get reposessed

Davie P, London,

Wake up Angela Knight.

Harish, Croydon, UK

We seem to have got the UK into a situation where the risk of a collapse in the financial industry leading to major fall in UK GDP without much compensation from old style industry which has run down is much too great. In such circumstances huge incentives to the City is not a good national strateg

Brian Lewis, Manila, Philippines

It seems to me that as soon as this present credit crisis is over the risk takers and their greed will be right back taking huge risks for huge profits with no downside to their personal finacial well being. CEOs of Merrill, CityGroup, Bear Sterns, Northern Rock lost their jobs but not their fortune

Jacques Lilly, London, England

I should have gone in banking: behave for 2 years, get small bonus. After that, take unacceptable risks: you either make a fortune for the bank and get a huge bonus. Or you loose your job - there is actually very little risk (look at leeson: again making 100.000/year)

Peter, London,

'Abdrew' from London, that was Mervyn's point. Because you get a percentage of profits, you are more inclined to take unpalatable risks (with shareholder money) to acquire more. You have a significant upside stake, but where is your downside? It just encourages short termism and creative accountancy

Shane, Guildford, England

I work as a trader in the City. I work very long hours and have a poor quality of social life Mon-Fri. I built up a large debt to achieve a degree and MBA . I compete against some of the smartest people in finance and banking. I make my employer a lot of money and i expect to get paid a % of it..

Abdrew, London,

"bright, young people were attracted to banking"

Are they? More like greedy young people. While bankers ought to be bright, from what I've seen intelligence and common-sense haven't been of major importance in the financial world.

Chris K, Cheltenham, UK

Why are they discussing bonuses when the banking system is in such a mess.I would have thought discussing P45s would be more realistic.

stephen hulton, eure, france

Credit crunch is due to Irresponsible leading by banks and credit agencies.

It's also due to us all living beyond our means, making the economy appear as if booming but the bubble was bound to burst, they knew this.

They promote this style of living via Sigmund Fraud tactics.

Wake Up!!!!

Andrew T, England, uk,

Fully support Mr King. Banker and city workers should only receive any bonuses after waiting at least one year to approve their 'real' achievement.

John yu, London,

Let's be realistic, you don't go to work in the City banking sector because you love to make money for other people. It is because of the huge payoffs.

SO, England,

The bottom line is this. It is a sin to make money from loaning out money. Those who do, are the real grasshoppers of the world as they perform no useful function and live off the ofttimes hard labor of the "ants." See the internet film, "The Money Masters" on Google. It inspires lynching bankers

victor compton, Cherbourg, France

The solution is to nationalize banks and pay salaries that represent a rational rate of reward. Banks are run by administartors that are gambling peoples money to ensure they receive the big bonuses that they have cleverly built into their pay structure at the expense of their clients. Stop the rot!

Jim Wills, Brisbane , Australia

The silver-tongued Angela Knight, bank spokesperson, would naturally think it 'unhelpful' to highlight the enormous sums that have been paid to second-raters in banks. Banks are gambling with other people's money and that's why their risky activities were so remunerative.

Mary, Leicester, England

Well done to Mr King. Angela Knight and her crew have no qualms asking for tax payers money, while rewarding themselves while presiding over the collapse in banking. If it were any other industry, they'd all just be allowed to go under.

Mac, Barcelona, Spain

So Angela Knight is saying by all means keep on paying the obscene bonuses but keep it quiet. Why is it that a plumber who fails at his job is sacked without a penny while an incompetent banker walks away with loads of loot? Could she kindly explain?

Phil Linehan, Mexico City, Mexico

The public nature of the squabbles is indicative of the effect that these remuneration structures have had on the general public. If the effects of such structures were wholly contained within the banking sector, then the squabbles would be wholly within the banking sector.

Vincent Curry, London,

The bankers have no right to complain when they are bailed out with cheap taxpayer money and subsidies. We need to put some sanity back into finance and grow real wealth, not illusionary paper profit at the expense of the real economy. We should join the Euro and end the rip-off Britain !

Steve Marchant, Broadhempston, UK

There, there, Angela.You may not like it, but they do say the truth always hurts.

Trevor, Southend, UK